A history of the foreign missionary work of the Protestant Episcopal Church

Front matter

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Introduction

A Few words will suffice to apprise the reader of the scope and design of the volume which is here introduced.

It embraces all important particulars relating to the Foreign Missionary work of the Protestant Episcopal Church, including all matters of a general character in the Proceedings, Reports, Appeals, and Addresses of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, in which, of course, the Foreign Missionary work had its full share of interest. As a matter of convenience, moreover, the abstracts of receipts have been made to embrace those which relate to both departments, Domestic as well as Foreign, and there needs to be added only that part of the history of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society which relates excluswely to Domestic Missions, to make the history complete in regard to the whole work of the Church in both departments.

The design of this volume is to bring before the Church, after a lapse of fifty years, a record of the zeal and devotion of those good men, some of whom are still with us, but most have fallen asleep, who, with patient toil, amid many trials and discouragements, laid the foundation of the Society, and faithfully built thereupon in succeeding years ; and, moreover, to call to remembrance those holy women, patterns to their own sex in our day, who devoted themselves as helpers in the work of spreading abroad the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

vi Introduction.

This book, it is hoped, will thus bear its part in the good purpose of the Secretaries of the Domestic and Foreign Committees, to have the meeting of the Board of Missions, and of the General Convention in Oct., 1871, signalized by Spectra JUBILEE Services, in commemoration of the work of our fathers, and will enable some, to whom the facts are not fully known, to enter — more intelligently and with more satisfaction into those interesting services. |

A further design of this volume is to enable the younger clergy, especially, to make themselves acquainted with the Missionary work of the Church from the beginning; so that, possessing themselves of the information here given, and of that which it is designed to give in the Sxconp Vorume, they will be able to follow on in the current history of our Missions with largely increased satisfaction and interest.

It has been thought well to reproduce, as we have done, a large part of the published proceedings of the Society for the period embraced by this volume—1821 to 1835. The Jubilee Services seemed to call for it, and, moreover, we have thought that the value of the book would thereby be greatly enhanced, inasmuch as the old records are very scarce and have been seen by very few of the present generation.

We desire to express our grateful acknowledgments to the Rev. Dr. S. R. Johnson, and the Rev. Dr. Eigenbrodt, for the loan of valuable documents; and to Mr. Frederick Schroeder Sill, of the General Theological Seminary, for his kind assistance in searching for papers.

Acknowledgments are due also to the Rev. Dr. Tyng for the loan of an original portrait of Bishop Griswold, from which the likeness of the Bishop in this volume has been copied; and also to the Rev. Dr. Dyer, the Hon. C. N. Potter, and G. W. Burnham, Esq., of New York, for the use of other pictures.

Erle lOnY

OF THE

FOREIGN MISSIONARY WORK,